Think again, is travelling to Pattaya Walking Street a trip you want to take? If you know what to expect you can justify your decision to go. Along the way you will see various forms of exploitation and oppression, the streets lined with Thai women, children preforming on the streets, bargirls and pamphlets with explicit content being shoved to you. Think again about the exploitation before indulging all that Walking Street has to offer.

Walking Street Pattaya is considered a red light district. One should take caution when traveling with family or kids. The street provides various restaurants, go-go bars, brothels, clubs and raunchy shows. Many locals and foreigners see Walking Street as a party zone. This street can also be seen as a sight of sadness and oppression. The context which made many of the Thai women to work on this street is one of coercion and desperation. Thai women travel down to Pattaya from all over the country in hopes to make a decent living. The street first started as a source of entertainment for soldiers during the Vietnam war and only grew in popularity since. Now it is an overwhelming sight of lights, bars and girls. These women often face verbal, physical and emotional abuse from both their customers and employers. These women often become infected with sexually transmitted diseases as they provide sexual services for a cost that is laughable to most Westerners. Despite these factors, Walking street is still labelled as a must-see for visitors, With this knowledge think again about your motives in visiting walking street. Think again, where you spend your money and what you are supporting.

Personal Experience:

I disliked the journey to Walking Street. The girls that line the streets of Pattaya as unofficial prostitutes and the girls that call to you from the bars or that are dancing in a glass cage are examples of objectification. It is not hard to see the sadness and coercion on this street. It is a place that made me feel sick, I saw everything from children dancing on the street, to old men being escorted by Thai women in their early twenties. This street to me is a problem that needs to be addressed, it is hard to witness the clear exploitation and oppression of women on this street.

Further information about Street girls in Thailand:

http://www.google.co.th/books?hl=th&lr=&id=2e-NRTv...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPpYGGijUqg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXCPaCr4pdc

Address:

South Pattaya Beach Road, Pattaya, Thailand

(stretching from Soi 13 to 16)

Website:

http://www.bangkok.com/pattaya/nightlife/walking-s...

Bars and Resturants:

For further inquiry, refer to specific bars for hours of operations

Hours of operation:

peak at 6:00pm when the street is closed to vehicles until 2:00am, yet many resturants are open throughout the day

Parking:

Located at the Bali Hai end

Past Walking Street:

Soi Pattayaland 1, 2 or 3, 7 to 8 provide a similar experience without the enormous crowd. Soi Pattayaland 3,is known as Boyz Town, Towards Central Pattaya Road.

Free